Soils

Healthy soils are key to any dairy system, helping to grow sustainable and productive pastures, crops and cows. This is achieved through careful soil fertility planning and management practices that reduce cultivation, compaction and anaerobic conditions. Factors like soil type, slope, topography, area (size) and accessibility are important when applying nutrients from manure sources to reuse areas.

Similarly, managing soils within the dairy complex during both construction and operation is important to ensure responsible environmental management, adequate storage requirements and reduced erosion and sediment movement. Soil permeability and construction constraints need to be considered in relation to dairy complex facility siting, design and construction methods. By siting and designing developments that complement the local landscape, earthworks can be minimised.

Appropriate management prevents:

• unintended creation of point sources of nutrients within the dairy complex
• excessive build-up of nutrients on grazing areas
• contamination and degradation of soils
• uncontrolled runoff of sediment into surface waters
• uncontrolled infiltration of poor-quality water to groundwater systems
• erosion of landscapes, especially steep or undulating areas
• acid sulphate soil disturbance
• Aboriginal cultural heritage disturbance.

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